Nakajima Indigo Dye Works

by Brian Fichtner

Like many traditions, the art of indigo dying is fading as global brands demand high paced, volumetric production cycles. The unpredictable tastes of today’s consumer have made it difficult for artisinal producers over the years, but a recent surge in the appreciation of heritage brands is bolstering the handmade artifact.

Tsurukichi is the fourth generation in one of Japan’s last remaining indigo dye houses, the Nakajima Konya compound, which was founded over 170 years ago. The company relies on an ancient fermentation process to produce its dye from the leaves of the indigofera plant; the indigo dye pots on site, sustain a living culture that imbues the textiles with an unrivaled vibrancy.

Working in a variety of fabrics, Tsurukichi designs both in-house and through collaborative partnerships. This weekend, the company will be participating in another regrettably waning tradition, the trunk show. Taking place at Project No. 8, company founder Nakajima Sensei (who has been described as a living treasure) and designer Matt Dick will be on hand to discuss the blues.

Tsurukichi San Francisco Showroom
864 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94109 map
tel. +1 415 292 5550

Bruxe

by Mike Giles

After 10 years of designing accessories and garments for major snowboard, streetwear and other youth driven companies Oli and Mer Van Roost, two Belgian-born twins now living in Montreal Canada, have launched a premium brand which is entirely their own. "By having 100% ownership of Bruxe, we are able to make the proper decisions and take the proper risks to make this brand grow at the right rate and in the right accounts" stated Oli.

A lot of care and dedication went into their inaugural collection.The first taste comes in the form of a five-piece backpack and bag collection offered in an Ultra Black color way featuring a mix of black canvas and black laser cut patent leather with black logos.

The collection will be sold in Canada, the U.S. and Japan through a carefully selected network of retailers who they feel will best represent the Bruxe brand. Look for the packs to hit shelves in early August. For more info visit their website.

Five Ski Sets

by Tim Yu

We've had a pretty good snow season this year out on the East Coast compared to recent seasons. With the Winter winding down now, I've had a few good months to research, check out and ponder my next ski set as I'm not so sure how much more my current decks can handle. There was a lot of new equipment released this year but the following are some the more interesting planks we found. Hard gear accessories and soft gear will follow shortly:

I was surprised and excited to see the return of Kästle this year. Big in the '80s and '90s, largely due to the success of sponsored downhill and world cup athletes, Kästle stopped production in the late '90s. Now under new ownership, the Austrian company came back with four new models this year, my favorite being the MX88. An all-mountain ski, its simple but attractive design caught my eye. Not just built on looks, Kästle's Hollowtech technology features an oval space of fiberglass at the tip of the ski to reduce weight therefore reducing vibrations and making the ski more stable when turning. They come mounted with top-end bindings and go for around $1,400.

If sticking to hardpack and going fast is your thing, you might want to try out Volkl's new Tigershark. Although I haven't gotten on them yet, the innovation here lies in the "power switch," a dial located on the back of the ski that allows you to stiffen the ski according to the conditions or your desired riding style. This gives you the versatility to take on the whole mountain. Priced at around $1,300, more info and a dealer locator at Volkl.

At 12 pounds, I doubt these are the best performing skis on the market, but they sure look nice and they are first to be made out of stone (granite). The Spada (roman word for sword) skis manufactured by Zai, a swiss brand well known for making high end equipment, came out with these Simon Jacomet designed skis late last year. Limited to only 500 pairs worldwide, they say the mix of carbon fiber and stone technologies make this ski strong, agile and smooth. I especially like the translucent Zai bindings. Price available upon request at Zai.

Possibly the best all around plank of the group, Atomic's Snoop Daddy is wide enough to float on powder but the 88mm sidecut facilitates easy turns on groomers, moguls and even ice. I could do without the faux wood graphics but If you're going to have one ski, starting at around $850, this is a great choice. More info on the whole Daddy series at Atomic.

A newer company that specializes in carbon fiber skis, DPS offers the Lotus series, progressively shaped powder skis that aim to change the game of powder skiing. Especially fat at the waist and more oval like in shape, the tip and tail have an accentuated arch that keeps you high in the snow pack. I especially like the monotone simple graphics. Purchase the Lotus 138 at DPS for $970 and be sure to check out their "design notes."

Rainbow In Your Hand

by Letizia Rossi

Created by Japanese art director and copywriter Masashi Kawamura, this Rainbow In Your Hand flip book is a mesmerizing little toy. The 36-page book has an image of the color spectrum against a black background on each page, creating the illusion of an arced rainbow hovering above the pages as the pages flip by.

Available from the Japanese Utrecht website.

via Swissmiss by way of Señorita Puri

Kluster: Project 72

by Tim Yu

After only days of existence, the kluster community has already made quite a name for itself. The Vermont-based "crowdsourcing" firm officially launched it's first product this past March 1st, after a frenzied three days of production. The group announced what they dubbed "Project 72" at the TED conference in Monterey, California in February.

Renowned as a a meeting of "the World's Greatest Thinkers and Doers," kluster took the opportunity to task the conference attendees—as well as the worldwide online community—to collaborate and develop an entirely new product in only 72 hours. The 2,700 participants from 104 countries ran through the development cycle: ideation, content creation, engineering, design, product-naming, marketing and finally fabrication. At the conclusion, kluster founder Ben Kaufman unveiled a prototype.

The resulting item is Over There, a board game aimed at increasing cultural knowledge. It goes by the tagline "the game of global awareness," and operates largely like your average board game, but it asks players to handle some of the world's more vexing crises. You can find more information on kluster and Project 72 on their website.

Blue Print Cleanse

by Seth Brau

Blue Print Cleanse, a Brooklyn-based juice company that specializes in fruit- and vegetable-based detox programs, is revolutionizing the idea of juice cleanses through ease of use and organization. Incorporating convenient services such as home deliveries and utilizing 100% vegan, raw, mostly organic and completely unprocessed fruits and vegetables, they use a hydraulic press rather than your basic bladed juicer. This means seven tons of pressure extracting every drop of goodness the fruits and vegetables have to give, approximately three to five times the vitamins and minerals than juices from other machines.

Blue Print really means it when they say "We think. You drink," covering each and every minor detail with their three-tiered, custom-length programs. I recently embarked on a five-day detox journey and was not only impressed by the quality of the juices and how organized and easy they make the whole process, but was just blown away by the customer service and care that goes into the whole operation.

The process begins by choosing your type or level. There are three different levels: Renovation, Foundation, and Excavation. Each level is slightly different, incorporating different ingredients and challenging the body to cleanse in different ways. Designed with specific types of people in mind, depending on how healthy your daily lifestyle is, Blueprint makes it simple and easy to find the right cleanse for you. Next you choose your length of cleanse, they recommend three to five days but you can really go for as long or as short as you'd like. Once a date has been chosen (they fill up rather quickly so keep checking back for updated dates), you can either pick up the juice at Blue Print's Manhattan offices, as well as at pickup sites in Connecticut and New Jersey, or you can have it delivered in either Manhattan or downtown Brooklyn. The juice arrives carefully packaged in colorful cooler bags (pictured), which are reusable, and each contains the six juices for one day. It's as simple as that, drink the juices throughout the day (about one every couple hours) along with plenty of water and herbal tea in between and you'll feel like a new person after three to five days.

See after the jump to read about my experience.

Head here to learn more and start cleansing.